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Capuano's injury tied to fracas in San Diego

4/16/13: Chris Capuano ultimately leaves with an injury in the third inning after falling down in the first and coming up lame in the second

By Ken Gurnick and Austin Laymance
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MLB.com |

LOS ANGELES -- The left calf strain that sent Dodgers pitcher Chris Capuano to the disabled list on Wednesday surfaced before Thursday's game in San Diego and became worse during the benches-clearing incident that sidelined Zack Greinke.

Capuano said the tightness he felt before that game became tighter while he sprinted in from the bullpen during the fracas that was triggered when Greinke hit Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin with a pitch.

Capuano said he thought the injury had responded enough to four days of treatment to allow him to start Tuesday night in Greinke's place, only for the muscle to partially tear when he sprinted off the mound to cover first base in the second inning.

As a result, the Dodgers put Capuano on the 15-day disabled list, recalled Tim Federowicz to be the backup catcher, freeing backup catcher Ramon Hernandez to serve as designated hitter for the Interleague series in Baltimore that opens on Friday.

Capuano will have an MRI exam and receive a platelet-rich plasma injection on Thursday, then join the club on the road. Ted Lilly, who made a third rehab start on Tuesday night, is expected to be activated to start on April 24 in New York.

"During the fight, I definitely felt the calf was sore," said Capuano. "I pitched in that game and didn't feel it, but probably from the adrenaline of pitching. It was sore the next few days, but we treated it and all indications were that it was ready to go."

Capuano said the injury felt better on Wednesday than it did Tuesday night. He said he had a similar strain during Spring Training three years ago.

Federowicz made the Opening Day roster, but was sent down when the Dodgers acquired the veteran Hernandez from Colorado for starting pitcher Aaron Harang. In four games with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, Federowicz hit .533 (8-for-15) with two homers and six RBIs.

Ken Gurnick is a reporter and Austin Laymance is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.